The Islamic State (Isis) have crucified 17 young men in 48 hours in retaliation for a wave of assassinations targeting their fighters. The executions carried out by the jihadist group, which controls vast swathes of land straddling Syria and Iraq, took place in the eastern and northern Syrian cities of Deir Ezzor (or Deir al-Zor) and Raqqa "to send a message to all their opponents after recent assassinations of 12 Syrian, Iraqi and Algerian jihadists," said London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The men, who were shot dead and then crucified for three days, were accused of fighting against Islamic...

He died because he acted like the incarnate Son of God; spoke like the incarnate Son of God What infuriated the establishment most were the claims to Lordship, the posture of authority, the exalted titles, the exercise of Messiahship, the presumed right to forgive, the way in which Jesus put himself in the center of Israel’s story, the delusions of grandeur, the acceptance of worship, and the audacity of man being God. Jesus did not die because the Jerusalem nasties couldn’t stand a souped up incarnation of Sesame Street.

Saudi authorities have beheaded a murderer and crucified his body after he killed and raped a Pakistani national. The kingdom's interior ministry announced the execution, stating that the man had murdered and sodomised another male. Both actions are punishable by death.

Yesterday, I was pretty excited about today’s scheduled House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, “EPA Priorities and Practices,” at which the former EPA regional administrator Al Armendariz was supposed to appear to explain his unique philosophy of enforcement. But then, all of my hopes were dashed — dashed! — when Energy & Commerce made this announcement late last night: WASHINGTON, DC – With less than 24 hours until he was scheduled to testify in front of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, former Regional Administrator for EPA Region 6 Al Armendariz has notified the committee that he will not appear at...

Remember the EPA regional boss who revealed his motivation as government regulator? He’s the one who said: “…my philosophy of enforcement… kind of like how the Romans used to … conquer villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they’d crucify them. Then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. It’s a deterrent factor.” First he apologized. Then he said that doesn’t really reflect his approach in his job. Then we asked if he shouldn’t lose his job. And...

Al Armendariz said Monday morning that he had submitted a letter of resignation on Sunday. Armendariz was already a lightning rod for conservative critics of the EPA in Texas before last week, when a video became public in which Armendariz spoke of "crucifying" oil and gas companies that broke the law. Members of Congress and Texas officials jumped on Armendariz's words as proof that he had run the EPA's regional office as an anti-industry zealot. The environmental engineer, on leave from a professor post at Southern Methodist University, sent a letter Monday to his friends and supporters:

Michael Kinsley once defined gaffe as the accidental telling of an embarrassing political truth. EPA official Al Armendariz has paid for his 2010 gaffe, captured on video and highlighted by Senator James Inhofe, with his job: The Obama administration's top environmental official in the oil-rich South and Southwest region has resigned after Republicans targeted him over remarks made two years ago when he used the word "crucify" to describe his approach to enforcement.In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson sent Sunday, Al Armendariz says he regrets his words and stresses that they do not reflect his work as administrator...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration's top environmental official in the oil-rich South and Southwest region has resigned after Republicans targeted him over remarks made two years ago when he used the word "crucify" to describe his approach to enforcement. In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson sent Sunday, Al Armendariz says he regrets his words and stresses that they do not reflect his work as administrator of the five-state region including Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz apologized for boasting that the Obama Administration’s approach toward environmental enemies was to “crucify them.” Armendariz attributed his remarks to his misunderstanding of the scope of the President’s authority. “While it is agreed that the President is empowered to kill those he deems a threat, I have been advised by the Attorney General that actually crucifying them would be construed as ‘cruel and unusual,’” Armendariz said. “Only more covert methods are currently approved.” Armendariz acknowledged “the President’s right to impose whatever restrictions he sees fit. After all, he is our ruler....

House GOP wants to haul EPA official before Congress over 'crucify' commentsBy Andrew Restuccia - 04/27/12 06:12 PM ET House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans want an Environmental Protection Agency official to testify on his 2010 comments comparing enforcement of air pollution laws to crucifixion. Republicans pounced this week on EPA Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz’s comments soon after Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) drew attention to them in a Wednesday floor speech. The comments quickly became the subject of a GOP campaign to blast the Obama administration’s environmental policies, with Republicans arguing in a stream of media interview and statements...

Abuse Of Power: An EPA official who apparently made good on a threat to "crucify" an oil company to make the entire energy industry "easy to manage" should resign or be fired. So why is the White House protecting him? EPA regional administrator for Dallas Al Armendariz told a city council meeting in a taped speech two years ago that his "philosophy" of enforcement was to single out an oil company, punish it "as hard as you can," and make an example of it to scare others into submission. "The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean," said...

In a Senate speech, Senator Inhofe will draw attention to a little known video from 2010, which shows a top EPA official, Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz, using the vivid metaphor of crucifixion to explain EPA's enforcement tactics for oil and gas producers. In this video Administrator Armendariz says: "But as I said, oil and gas is an enforcement priority, it's one of seven, so we are going to spend a fair amount of time looking at oil and gas production. And I gave, I was in a meeting once and I gave an analogy to my staff about my...

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter." -- Qur'an 5:33 It looks as if these brothers' apparent support for the Christian Gbagbo over the Muslim Ouattara constituted "waging war against Allah and His Messenger." "Brothers crucified by Ouattara forces in Ivory Coast," from Barnabas Aid, June 8 (thanks...

There is one supremely urgent question in life which every person must answer. It was asked by Jesus Himself: "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). It is finally not "What do others say?" but "What do you say?" That alone really counts.On the surface it is admittedly a strange question. Indeed, coming from the lips of anyone but Jesus of Nazareth it would seem absurd. "Who am I?" asked by someone else could not even be taken seriously. "Why, of course, you are a man, a human being, just like all other human beings—who do you...